The new musical, Never Forget, based on the musical group Take That, has kicked off a UK tour, with a look at fictitious Take That tribute band Never Forget and featuring many of the real-life band's hits. Directed by Ed Curtis, the tour is designed by Bob Bailey with lighting from James Whiteside.
For special effects, Le Maitre Ltd, the exclusive UK distributor for Pyrotek Special Effects Inc. and Laser Design Productions Inc., provided the new Aqua Visual Effects system in order to make it rain on stage in a controlled way that wouldn't get the audience wet. The system feeds fresh water to a 28' water screen that drops 1m from the front of a stage. A very small gap in the staging allows the water to drain into a 1500L water tank fitted under the stage.
The rain sequence, performed during “Back for Good,” includes doorways opening, closing, and moving throughout the 28' section as the performers interact with the water. The storm progresses through five stages of intensity, from light droplets to a torrential deluge where the cast, clad in raincoats, performs a choreographed number. The five-minute sequence uses approximately 200L of water per performance, the equivalent of about a bathtub full.
Lighting the rain and the rest of the show, the rig features Clay Paky Alpha Wash Halos, Vari-Lite VL1000s, VL2000 spots, and VL2000 washes, Rainbow Scrollers, and Robert Juliat Super Korrigans. For LED fixtures, the design employs James Thomas Engineering PixelLine 1044 battens and a ChromaQ Color Web 250 flexible LED mesh grid. For lighting control, an MA Lighting grandMA, a grandMA light, a grandMA video media server, and an MA NSP are utilized.
Fully integrated grandMA video allows the media server to be controlled like a fixture. This also allows triggering of the LEDs, which are treated like moving lights. The PixelLine battens are controlled directly from the console so effects are created using grandMA effects.
White Light supplied the lighting equipment for the show, with Andy Greenwood as lighting crew chief and Simon Gooding as production manager.